Apparatus for use in opening chests or boxes



July 29, 1969 E. w. H. STEER ETAL 3,457,642

APPARATUS FOR USE IN OPENING CHESTS 0R BOXES Filed Jan. 17, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jfily 29, 1969 E. w. H. STEER ET AL 3,457,642

APPARATUS FOR USE IN OPENING CHESTS 0R BOXES Filed Jan. 17, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet July 29, 1969 w, STEER ET'AL 3,457,642

APPARATUS FOR USE IN OPENING CHESTS OR BOXES Filed Jan. 17, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet a E.w. H. STEER EI'AL 3,457,642

APPARATUS FOR USE IN OPENING CHESTS OR BOXES July 29, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 17, 1967 IH IH HI H "I l" n mw l ul lul lu hn fl II I I II United States Patent O 3,457,642 APPARATUS FOR USE IN OPENING CHESTS OR BOXES Ensor William Harold Steer, Wythall, and Kenneth Frederick Charles Bowman, Birmingham, England, assignors to Phillips Engineering Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Filed Jan. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 609,954 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 27, 1966, 3,655 6 6 Int. Cl. 1367b 7/30 US. Cl. 30--2 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for use in opening closed chests or boxes comprising chest support means, cutting means disposed at a level adjacent to the chest-engaging surface of the support means and arranged to be engaged with a chest to be opened just above the underside thereof and means for inverting the chest after relative movement has been effected between the chest and the cutting means to cut through the walls of the chest around the periphery thereof.

This invention relates to apparatus for use in opening closed chests or boxes (hereinafter referred to as chests) such as for example tea chests, the object of the invention being to provide such apparatus in a convenient form.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises an upwardly directed support member arranged to engage and support the underside of a chest to be opened, cutting means disposed at a level adjacent to the chestengaging surface of said support member and adapted to be brought into engagement with the chest just above the underside thereof, means for effecting relative movement between said cutting means and the chest when supported by said support member so that said cutting means will cut through the peripheral wall of the chest just above the base thereof, and means for inverting the chest after the cutting has been effected.

Apparatus as described in the preceding paragraph is especially intended for use in opening chests of rectangular section in plan and in this case the cutting means preferably comprises two pairs of cutting tools, namely a first pair of cutting tools adapted to cut one pair of opposite sides of the chest and a second pair of cutting tools adapted to cut the other pair of opposite sides of the chest and there being provided means for traversing a chest to be opened successively between said pairs of cutting tools.

Conveniently each of said cutting tools is in the form of a power-driven rotary saw that is rotated about a vertical or substantially vertical axis. In this event the two saws comprising the first pair of saws may be separated along a line which extends in a direction which is either parallel or at right angles to the direction in which the line of separation of the saws of the other pair of saws extends. In the former case, the chest would be turned through 90 about a vertical axis after passing between the first pair of saws and before passing between the second pair of saws in order that the four saws may be respectively engaged with the four sides of the chest. In the latter case the chest will not be rotated but will be traversed in two mutually perpendicular directorsnamely in one direction whilst passing between one pair of saws and in another, perpendicular, direction whilst passing between the other pair of saws. Furthermore, the means for inverting the chest after cutting has been ice effected may be operated manually or by power-driven means.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein FIGURE 1 is .a plan view showing one example of an apparatus in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a part-sectional view (being on a larger scale than that used for FIGURE 1) taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a part-sectional end view (again on a larger scale than is used in FIGURE 1) in the direction of arrow A in FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic plan view showing an alternative embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention.

Referring firstly to FIGURES l, 2 and 3 the apparatus shown therein is designed for use in opening closed tea chests which are of cuboidal configuration, one of such chests being indicated in dotted outline by reference numeral .10 in FIGURE 2. A tea chest is commonly formed of six panels of plywood or the like and initially one panel is left unconnected to the remaining five so as to provide an open upper end into which the contents of the chest can be loaded. The unconnected panel thus acts as a lid and around the internal periphery of the upper edge of the chest are arranged wooden battens which add stiffness to the chest and which also provide supports for use in securing the lid. The lid is normally secured to the remainder of the chest by means of four strips of metal each bent to an angle shaped configuration in cross section so that each strip connects one edge of the lid to the adjacent edge of the adjacent side of the chest. The chests vary in size although they are commonly of square configuration in cross section and of a height which is somewhat greater than the width of each side. It is however to be understood that the base of the chest is normally secured to the sides in a manner similar to that used for securing the lid so that it is immaterial from the point of view of gaining access to the interior of the chest whether the lid (ie the uppermost panel) or the base (ie, the lowermost panel) is removed.

In the apparatus now described there are provided two endless conveyors 11 and 12 (see FIGURE 1) each having flights 13 (see FIGURE 2) adapted to engage a chest whereby it may be moved along the conveyor, the two conveyors 11 and 12 being arranged so that their upper runs extend in mutually perpendicular directions which are each horizontal or substantially horizontal.

Associated with each conveyor is a pair of cutting tools in the form of a pair of rotary saws 14 and 15 or 16 and 17 which are each adapted to be rotated about a vertical axis by an electric motor such are indicated by reference numerals 18 and 19 in FIGURE 2, each saw being connected to its driving motor by any convenient means such as chains and sprockets, the two saws of each pair being arranged respectively on opposite sides of the associated conveyor. Also associated with each conveyor 11 and 12 is a support member or members conveniently in the form of a pair of fixed strips 20 and 21 arranged one on either side of the associated conveyor, said strips having upwardly directed surfaces adapted to engage the underside or a chest (see FIGURE 2) moved by the conveyor. The two saws of each pair of saws are disposed at a level adjacent to the chest-engaging surfaces of the associated support strips and the two saws are relatively movable towards and away from each other, one saw preferably being fixed and the other being mounted so as to be urged by resilient means such as a spring or springs 22 towards a position (defined by a suitable stop) which represents a minimum distance of separation from the fixed saw. Thus, in FIGURE 1, saws 15 and 17 are fixedwhils the other saws 14 and 16 are movable along short tracks towards stops 23 and 24.

There is also provided in association with each conveyor guide means which include a laterally movable guide strip 25 or 26 connected to the adjacent movable saw (14 or 16) so that as a chest if conveyed by each conveyor between the associated pair of saws the movable saw will be moved by inter-engagement of the chest and the movable guide to a position suitable to the width of the particular chest then passing between the saws in order that the saws may cut through one pair of opposite sides of the chest just above the lowermost panel thereof, said sides each extending of course in a direction parallel to the length of the conveyor. Thus after the chest has passed along the first conveyor 11 and between the first pair of saws 14 and it is conveyed onto the second conveyor 12 without rotation of the chest and is then moved in a direction at right angles to its initial direction of movement so that it can pass between the second pair of saws 16 and 17 in order that the other pair of opposite sides of the chest can be cut again at a level just above the lowermost panel of the chest. A cut will thus have been effected around the whole periphery of the chest so that the lowermost panel will be separated from the remainder of the chest. The chest is then conveyed by the second conveyor into a support in the form of a drum 27 having an aperture 28 which is rotatable about a horizontal axis (rotation being effected either manually or by power operated means such as a friction wheel 29 driven by an electric motor 30) so that the chest can be turned through 180 about a horizontal axis in order to bring the severed lowermost panel uppermost. The chest can then be conveyed to a position where the severed panel can be removed in order that the contents of the chest can be discharged.

Instead of providing two conveyors which run in mutually perpendicular directions in order that both pairs of opposite sides of the chest can be cut as above described the two conveyors or a single conveyor may be arranged to extend in one straight line as shown in FIG- URE 4 but in this case means in the form of an indexable turntable 31 are provided for turning the chest through 90 about a vertical axis after it has passed between the first pair of saws 32 and 33 and before it passes between the second pair of saws 34 and 35.

It is found with apparatus as above described that little or none of the contents of the chest will be split after the lowermost panel has been severed and before the chest is inverted to bring the severed panel uppermost. If required however means such as a further conveyor in the form of an endless troughed belt (not shown) can be provided beneath the apparatus to collect any of the contents of a chest that may fall from the chest after said lowermost panel has been severed.

It is however to be understood that the present invention provides a simple and effective method of dealing automatically with the opening of chests of various sizes, thus providing a considerable economy over the manual system at present employed. The two pairs of saws are of course automatically self adjusting so that they can accommodate chests of different widths. In addition the position of the cuts made by the saws as measured in a vertical direction is governed by the vertical distance between the saws and the datum surfaces provided by the aforementioned strips and 21 along the sides of the conveyors and since it is the lowermost panel of each chest that is severed no adjustment has to be made to the vertical position of the saws to accommodate chests of varying heights.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for use in opening chests of rectangular section in plan comprising an upwardly directed support member arranged to engage and support the underside of a chest to be opened, cutting means disposed at a level adjacent to the chest-engaging surface of said support member and adapted to be brought into engagement with the chest just above the underside thereof, said cutting means comprising two pairs of cutting tools, namely a first pair of cutting tools adapted to cut one pair of opposite sides of the chest and a second pair of cutting tools adapted to cut the other pair of opposite sides of the chest and there being provided means for traversing a chest to be opened successively between said pairs of cutting tools whilst the chest is supported by said support members so that said pairs of cutting tools will cut through the peripheral wall of the chest just above the base thereof, and means for inverting the chest after the cutting has been effected.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cutting tools of the first pair of cutting tools are separated along a line which extends in a direction substantially parallel to the direction in which the line of separation of the cutting tools of the second pair of cutting tools extends, means being provided for turnnig the chest about a vertical axis through an angle of Whilst it is disposed between the first pair of cutting tools and the second pair of cutting tools.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cutting tools of the first pair of cutting tools are separated along a line which extends in a direction substantially at right angels to the direction in which the line of separation of the cutting tools of the second pair of cutting tools extends, the means for traversing the chest successively between said pairs of cutting tools being arranged so that the chest is moved into two mutually perpendicular directions without rotation.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein each pair of cutting tools comprises a pair of power-driven rotary saws which are relatively movable towards and away from each other.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein each pair of cutting tools comprises a pair of power-driven rotary saws which are relatively movable towards and away from each other.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein one saw of each pair of saws is fixed whilst the other saw is movable towards and away from the fixed saw and is connected to a guide strip engageable by a chest for the purpose of adjusting the relative spacing of the saws.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein one saw of each pair of saws is fixed whilst the other saw is movable towards and away from the fixed saw and is connected to a guide strip engageable by a chest for the purpose of adjusting the relative spacing of the saws.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for inverting a chest after cutting has been effected comprises a drum which is rotatable about a horizontal axis and which has an aperture adapted to receive the chest to be inverted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,161,877 6/1939 Malocsay 83425 X 2,732,619 1/ 1956 Labine 30-2 3,135,049 6/1964 Daugherty et al. 3,137,068 -6/1964 Quigley 83-404 X FOREIGN PATENTS 460,917 6/ 1928 Germany.

FRANK T. YOST, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

